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JLARC staff raises concerns about Department of Health inspection capacity; members ask for closer review
Summary
Staff told the subcommittee that vacancies and backlogs have left some Department of Health inspection programs behind; members asked JLARC to scope a study of inspection staffing, prioritization and remediation for facilities such as long-term-care and hospitals.
Tracy Smith, who has overseen JLARC's Department of Health review, told the studies subcommittee that internal surveys and media reporting indicate high vacancy rates in inspection units and potential delays in inspecting long-term-care facilities and hospitals.
"Of all of the divisions within the Department of Health that are struggling with high vacancy rates... there are indications it's not going well," Smith said, describing both staffing shortfalls and concerns about inspection timeliness.
Staff suggested JLARC could examine how the Department of Health prioritizes inspections, how inspections are carried out, and what happens after negative findings: whether remediation is timely and what enforcement or follow-up procedures exist. Staff also noted that some inspection responsibilities (for example, food safety at certain facilities) fall to other agencies.
Senator Sickles and others flagged federal policy changes and staffing standards for nursing homes, noting that a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rule will impose a staffing standard and that Virginia currently lacks a state nursing-home staffing standard. Members asked staff to consider these regulatory and staffing contexts when scoping any inspection-focused study.
Staff agreed to flesh out a scope and return with options for the subcommittee to prioritize.
